Management of biometric information

ABSTRACT

Fraud risk is monitored in financial transactions. Biometric information is received over the communications interface configured to exchange data with multiple distinct financial institutions. The received biometric information is compared with a database of biometric information to identify an individual. A fraud-detection analysis is performed on the financial transaction information associated with the individual. The financial transaction information associated with the individual is identified as suspicious in accordance with a result of the fraud-detection analysis. The biometric parameters associated with the individual are designated as associated with suspicious financial activity.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.11/396,247 filed on Mar. 30, 2006, hereby expressly incorporated byreference in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This application relates generally to biometrics. More specifically,this application relates to management of biometric information used infraud-detection analyses for financial applications.

In recent years, there has been a steadily increasing emphasis on thepotential for using biometrics to identify individuals reliably.Generally, “biometrics” refers to the use of statistical analysis tocharacterize living bodies, with such characteristics commonly beingused to identify human individuals. Different physical features may beused for the characterization, with a widely known and conventional formof biometric being fingerprints. Other physical features that may beused for biometric functions include geometrical facial structures,structures of the iris or retina in eyes, geometrical structure of aperson's hand, vein structure, voiceprints, and the like.

At the same time as biometrics have been developing in sophistication aspotentially useful mechanisms for identifying individuals, there hasalso been a separate increase in various types of fraud, one example ofwhich is the phenomenon of “identity theft,” in which a victim'sidentity is misappropriated and used fraudulently to gain access to thevictim's financial affairs. The cost of fraud is large, not only interms of the cumulative financial impact of the large number ofinstances that now routinely occur, but also in terms of its impact onvictims.

The use of biometrics has been recognized as a potential way to limitthe ability to engage in identity theft. This is because the biometricis ultimately tied to the physical characteristics of individuals, notto extraneous forms of identification. It is considerably more difficultto reproduce forgeries of biological characteristics than it is of paperdocuments, and certainly much more difficult to engage in their actualtheft. Despite this recognition, there has been relatively little effortexpended on integrating the use of biometric identifications into aninfrastructure used in coordination financial transactions. There isaccordingly a general need in the art for such integration.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a first set of embodiments, a system is provided for monitoring fraudrisk in financial transactions. A communications interface is configuredto exchange data between the system and a plurality of distinctfinancial institutions. A storage device maintains a database ofbiometric information associating biometric parameters with identifiedindividuals and maintains a database of financial transactioninformation associated with the individuals. A processor is provided incommunication with the communications interface and with the storagedevice. A memory is coupled with the processor. The memory comprises acomputer-readable storage medium having a computer-readable programtherein for operating the system to monitor fraud risk in financialtransactions. The computer-readable program has instructions to receivebiometric information over the communications interface. It also hasinstructions to compare the received biometric information with thedatabase of biometric information to identify an individual. Afraud-detection analysis is performed on the financial transactioninformation associated with the individual. The financial transactioninformation associated with the individual is identified as suspiciousin accordance with a result of the fraud-detection analysis. Thebiometric parameters associated with the individual are designated asassociated with suspicious financial activity.

The individual may comprise an employee of one of the plurality ofdistinct financial institutions. In some embodiments, thecomputer-readable program also has instructions for transmitting awarning over the communications system that the biometric parametersassociated with the individual have been designated as associated withsuspicious financial activity.

The biometric information may comprise raw biometric data or maycomprise derived biometric parameters in different embodiments. In oneembodiment, the instructions for receiving biometric information overthe communications interface further comprise instructions for receivingat least part of a commercial transaction request over thecommunications interface. A denial of the commercial transaction requestmay then be transmitted over the communications interface. The distinctfinancial institutions may comprise a bank or may comprise amoney-transfer organization in different embodiments. For example, inone embodiment, the instructions for receiving biometric informationover the communications interface comprise instructions for receivingbiometric information from one of the plurality of distinct financialinstitutions.

The communications interface may be further configured to exchange databetween the system and a plurality of distinct merchants. In suchembodiments, the instructions for receiving biometric information overthe communications interface may comprise instructions for receivingbiometric information from one of the plurality of distinct merchants.

In certain embodiments, second biometric information is also receivedover the communications interface. The received second biometricinformation is compared with the database of biometric information toidentify a second individual. Details of the financial transactioninformation associated with the second individual are then returned overthe communications interface.

In a second set of embodiments, a similar structure is used for managingbiometric information. The computer-readable program comprisesinstructions for receiving biometric information over the communicationsinterface. The received biometric information is compared with thedatabase of biometric information to identify an individual. An analysisis performed on the financial transaction information associated withthe individual. The financial transaction information is identified asfavorable in accordance with a result of the analysis. The biometricparameters associated with the individual are designated as associatedwith favorable financial activity.

In some such embodiments, the individual may comprise an employee of oneof the plurality of distinct financial institutions. The receivedbiometric information may comprise raw biometric data or may comprisederived biometric parameters in different embodiments. In oneembodiment, second biometric information is received over thecommunications interface. The received second biometric information iscompared with the database of biometric information to identify a secondindividual. Details of the financial transaction information associatedwith the second individual are returned over the communicationsinterface.

In a third set of embodiments, a system is provided for managing the useof biometric information. A communications interface is configured toexchange data between the system and a plurality of distinct financialinstitutions. Each of the distinct financial institutions maintains adata store of biometric information associating biometric parameterswith identified individuals and maintains a database of financialtransaction information associated with the individuals. A storagedevice maintains records identifying, for each of a plurality ofindividual, which of the plurality of distinct financial institutionsmaintains the data store of biometric information associating biometricparameters with the each of the plurality of individuals. A processor isprovided in communication with the communications interface and with thestorage device. A memory is coupled with the processor and comprises acomputer-readable storage medium having a computer-readable programembodied therein for operating the system to manage the use of biometricinformation. The computer-readable program comprises instructions forreceiving biometric information and a purported identity of a specifiedindividual over the communications interface from a requesting party.The records maintained on the storage device are used to identify whichof the plurality of distinct financial institutions maintains the datastore of biometric information associating biometric parameters with thespecified individual. The received biometric information is routed tothe identified financial institution. Results of a comparison of thereceived biometric information and the biometric parameters associatedwith the specified individual are received. The results are transmittedover the communications interface to the requesting party.

In these embodiments also, the specified individual may comprise anemployee of one of the plurality of distinct financial institutions, andthe received biometric information may comprise raw biometric data orderived biometric parameters in different embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the presentinvention may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of thespecification and the drawings wherein like reference numerals are usedthroughout the several drawings to refer to similar components. In someinstances, a sublabel is associated with a reference numeral and followsa hyphen to denote one of multiple similar components. When reference ismade to a reference numeral without specification to an existingsublabel, it is intended to refer to all such multiple similarcomponents.

FIG. 1A illustrates a schematic overview of a first architecture inwhich embodiments of the invention may be implemented;

FIG. 1B illustrates a schematic overview of a second architecture inwhich embodiments of the invention may be implemented;

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic structure of a computational device onwhich methods of the invention may be embodied; and

FIGS. 3A-3D are flow diagrams illustrating methods of the invention thatmay be implemented within the architectures shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention provide an integrated infrastructure thatpermits different, unrelated entities to make use of structures formanaging biometric information in considering and executing a variety ofdifferent kinds of financial transactions. For example, in someembodiments, a common biometrics repository is provided; in otherembodiments, the biometric information is stored in discrete data storesdistributed over a network, with a biometric switch coordinating therouting of information over the network. These architectures permit theuse of biometrics in a wide array of applications. In some instances,the biometrics are used to verify purported identities of individualsand in other instances, the biometrics are used for independentidentification of individuals. These kinds of identification may benegative or positive—that is, organizations may associate negativecharacteristics of individuals with biometric information such as whenthey have criminal records, or may associate positive characteristicssuch as when they have a history of desirable behavior with theorganizations.

An overview of a structure that may be used for embodiments that makeuse of a biometrics repository is provided with the schematic diagram ofFIG. 1A. The structure of the architecture illustrated in this drawingmay be considered to surround a fraud-identification system 100 that hasaccess to a number of data repositories 104 used in monitoringtransactions for irregularities that may signal potential fraud. Thecombination of the capabilities of the fraud-identification system 100and the data repositories 104 permits it to act as a trusted registrarwith which biometric data are checked. The data repositories 104 mayinclude a biometrics repository that comprises a database associatingbiometric parameters with identities of individuals. In some instances,the individuals may comprise employees or customers of financialinstitutions or merchants integrated within the architecture. When theindividuals comprise employees, the actions taken by thefraud-identification system 100 may be forms of employee-informationscreening. The biometric parameters may comprise raw biometricparameters, such as in embodiments where an entire fingerprint is storedor where a retinal pattern is stored. Alternatively, the biometricparameters may comprise derived biometric parameters, such as inembodiments where geometrical positions of fingerprint minutiae or otherstatistical characteristics of a raw biometric pattern are stored. Moregenerally, the information stored in the biometrics repository maycomprise any type of biometric information, including information thatresults from fingerprints or other dermatoglyphic patterns, hand orfacial geometry, retinal or iris patterns, vein structure, and the like.In some embodiments, the biometrics repository stores multiple types ofbiometric information.

The other data repositories 104 may include a variety of types offinancial transaction information, which may also be associated withparticular individuals (including employees or customers). The financialtransaction information stored in the data repositories 104 may beobtained from a variety of different sources and subjected tostatistical analyses using methods known in the art to identifyirregularities characteristic of potential fraud. It is thus generallyanticipated that improved fraud detection results when the financialtransaction information stored in the data repositories 104 isrelatively complete. While embodiments of the invention may readily useinformation that contains gaps, the presence of such gaps has thepotential of obscuring certain behaviors that might otherwise be used inidentifying potential fraud.

Collection of the financial transaction information is facilitated withinterfaces between the fraud-identification system and a variety offinancial networks, some of which are identified in FIG. 1A forillustrative purposes. For example, the fraud-identification system 100may be interfaced with a financial network 108 through whichcommunications with or among financial institutions 120 are routed. Thefinancial institutions 120 may comprise a variety of different types offinancial institutions, and embodiments of the invention are not limitedby the specific types of financial services offered by the respectivefinancial institutions 120. For example, the financial institutions 120may comprise banks, credit unions, trust organizations, brokerage firms,and/or the like. Interactions by individuals (including employees orcustomers) with respective financial institutions may be effected with anumber of different types of devices, some of which are indicatedexplicitly in the drawing. For example, magnetic-stripe readers 124 maybe used to read a variety of different card instruments, including bankcards, credit cards, debit cards and the like, as well as identityinstruments such as drivers' licenses that include magnetic-stripecards. Magnetic-ink readers 128 may be used to read a variety ofinstruments that have information printed on them using magnetic ink,such as checks, deposit slips, and the like.

In addition to these type of devices, biometric readers 132 may beprovided to collect biometric information from individuals (includingemployees or customers). The specific design of the biometric readers132 may vary, depending on the type of biometric to be collected. Forexample, fingerprints may be collected using optical fingerprint readersthat use total internal reflection to discriminate between ridges andvalleys in the surface structure of fingers. Facial geometrymeasurements may be collected using digital cameras coupled withcomputational units that perform eigenvalue analyses to extractcharacterizing features. Similar techniques may be performed usingcameras to collect biometric retinal or iris information. Hand geometrymeasurements may be collected using a template over which a user placeshis hand, resulting in separation of the fingers, to permit cameras toacquire top and side views of the hand.

The fraud-identification system 100 may also be interfaced with atransaction network 116 through which transaction information may berouted both to the financial network 108 and to the fraud-identificationsystem 100. The routing through the financial network 108 permitstransaction information to be considered by financial institutions asdescribed in further detail below to determine whether to approve ordeny particular transactions by customers with merchants. The routing tothe fraud-identification system 100 generally includes biometricinformation collected when the transaction is staged, permittingauthentication of the biometric information by a centralized source. Insome embodiments, particulars of the transaction are also routed to thefraud-identification system, which may then add such particulars and/orinformation derived from such particulars to the data repositories. Thisinformation then becomes part of the body of data that may be used bythe fraud-identification system in identifying patterns that indicatethe existence of suspicious behavior.

The transaction network 116 receives transaction information frommerchants 152, each of which may in turn collect transaction informationat a point-of-sale using a variety of different types of devices. Someof these devices are identified explicitly in FIG. 1, such as amagnetic-stripe reader 156, a magnetic-ink reader, a chip-card reader164, and the like. The availability of multiple types of devicesprovides versatility in accepting different forms of payment from acustomer, and may sometimes simplify providing a self-service facilityfor executing transactions with a customer. Examples of point-of-saledevices that include multiple capabilities for identifying transactioninstruments are provided in the following commonly assignedapplications, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein byreference for all purposes: U.S. Prov. Pat. Appl. No. 60/147,889,entitled “INTEGRATED POINT OF SALE DEVICE,” filed Aug. 9, 1999 by RandyJ. Templeton et al.; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/634,901,entitled “POINT OF SALE PAYMENT SYSTEM,” filed Aug. 9, 2000 by Randy J.Templeton et al.; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/116,689, entitled“SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PERFORMING TRANSACTIONS AT A POINT-OF-SALE,”filed Apr. 3, 2002 by Earney Stoutenburg et al.; U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/116,733, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DEPLOYING APOINT-OF-SALE SYSTEM,” filed Apr. 3, 2002 by Earney Stoutenburg et al.;U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/116,686, entitled “SYSTEMS ANDMETHODS FOR UTILIZING A POINT-OF-SALE SYSTEM,” filed Apr. 3, 2002 byEarney Stoutenburg et al.; and U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/116,735, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONFIGURING APOINT-OF-SALE SYSTEM,” filed Apr. 3, 2002 by Earney Stoutenburg (“thepoint-of-sale device applications”). Biometric information at apoint-of-sale may be collected using a biometric reader 168, which mayhave any of the structures described above in different embodiments,depending on the specific type of biometric information to be collected.

The fraud-identification system 100 may also be interfaced with amoney-transfer network 112, over which currency-transfer transactionsmay be executed between money-transfer providers 136. Again, each of themoney-transfer providers 136 may have a number of different types ofdevices for collecting or providing funds in executing themoney-transfer transactions, such as magnetic-stripe readers 140,chip-card readers 144, and the like. In some embodiments, such devicesmay be comprised by an integrated point-of-sale device as described inthe point-of-sale device applications. Biometric information may becollected using a biometric reader 148 like those described above.

An overview of a structure that makes use of a distributed networkthroughout which biometric information may be stored is illustrated inFIG. 1B. The basic architecture shown in this drawing is generallysimilar to the architecture described in connection with FIG. 1A. Thearchitectures differ in that the fraud-identification system 100 hasbeen replaced by a biometric switch 180 and the biometrics repositoryhas been replaced by data stored at data stores 184 associated withrespective financial institutions 120. The operation of the architectureis accordingly similar to that described in connection with FIG. 1A, butdiffers in that the biometric switch 180 acts to coordinate the routingof requests for biometric analyses and the results of those requests sothat the locally stored biometric information may be applied directly.The biometric switch 180 may accordingly comprises its own data store188 that maintains information used in implementing the routing ofrequests and responses over the network defined by the architecture.

The fraud-identification system 100 or the biometric switch 180 mayadvantageously be embodied on a computational device such as illustratedschematically in FIG. 2, which broadly illustrates how individual systemelements may be implemented in a separated or more integrated manner.The system 100 or switch 180 is shown comprised of hardware elementsthat are electrically coupled via bus 226. The hardware elements includea processor 202, an input device 204, an output device 206, a storagedevice 208, a computer-readable storage media reader 210 a, acommunications system 214, a processing acceleration unit 216 such as aDSP or special-purpose processor, and a memory 218. Thecomputer-readable storage media reader 210 a is further connected to acomputer-readable storage medium 210 b, the combination comprehensivelyrepresenting remote, local, fixed, and/or removable storage devices plusstorage media for temporarily and/or more permanently containingcomputer-readable information. The communications system 214 maycomprise a wired, wireless, modem, and/or other type of interfacingconnection and permits data to be exchanged with the transaction network116, the financial network 108, and/or the money-transfer network 112.

The computational device 200 also comprises software elements, shown asbeing currently located within working memory 220, including anoperating system 224 and other code 222, such as a program designed toimplement methods of the invention. It will be apparent to those skilledin the art that substantial variations may be used in accordance withspecific requirements. For example, customized hardware might also beused and/or particular elements might be implemented in hardware,software (including portable software, such as applets), or both.Further, connection to other computing devices such as networkinput/output devices may be employed.

Methods of the invention are illustrated with the flow diagrams of FIGS.3A-3D. FIG. 3A illustrates an overview of how information collected fromvarious sources may be used to identify potentially fraudulent financialactivity and associate such an identification with one or morebiometrics. Such methods broadly begin with customer or employeeenrollment of biometric information into the system. For instance, asindicated at block 302, a customer may enroll his biometric with afinancial institution 120, which applies a standardized analyticalalgorithm to the collected biometric at block 304. Such a standardizedalgorithm seeks to identify sufficiently many distinguishingcharacteristics that a later match with the distinguishingcharacteristics is highly likely to be a unique identity confirmation.For instance, the analytical algorithm might operate on a fingerprintpattern to identify and record minutiae. Alternatively, the analyticalalgorithm might operate on a facial-geometry pattern to extracteigenvalue identifications. In embodiments using the architecture shownin FIG. 1A, the financial institution 120 then transmits the results ofthe analytical algorithm to the fraud-identification system 100 at block306. If an architecture like that shown in FIG. 1B is used, thebiometric or results of the analytical algorithm are instead storedlocally at the financial institution 120 in the data store 184 at block304.

In some alternative embodiments, the financial institution 120 maytransmit a raw biometric to the fraud-identification system 100 at block306, permitting application of the analytical algorithm to be made bythe fraud-identification system 100 itself. The system 100 stores thebiometric and/or the results of applying the analytical algorithm,whether the algorithm be applied by the fraud-identification system orby another party, in the biometric repository at block 308.

Irrespective of where the biometric information is stored, whether it becentrally as in an architecture like that shown in FIG. 1A or in adistributed fashion as in an architecture like that shown in FIG. 1B, anassociation may be made in some embodiments between the stored biometricand fraud information and account information at block 310. It isgenerally anticipated that account information and item-leveltransaction information will regularly be received over the financialnetwork 108, the money-transfer network 112, and/or the transactionnetwork 116, as indicated at block 312. This regularly receivedinformation is analyzed with fraud-detection algorithms at block 314.Such fraud-detection algorithms typically seek to identify patterns ofbehavior evident from the item-level transaction and account informationthat raise a suspicion of fraud. For example, some relatively simplefraud patterns that may be identified are multiple near-simultaneoustransactions originating at different geographical locations by the sameindividual. More complex fraud patterns that might be identified takeplace over extended periods of time and are evident by repeatedinconsistencies in transactions. The scope of potential fraud patternsthat may be identified is large and known to those of skill in the art.When a particular analysis identifies a suspicious pattern that may beassociated with a particular biometric, that biometric is designated assuspicious at block 316.

The methods of FIG. 3A may operate substantially continuously,collecting updated account information from financial institutions,collecting item-level transaction information as transactions areexecuted, and adding additional biometric information as new customersbecome enrolled. The fraud-identification system thus has comprehensiveand evolving information that may be used in detecting fraud and incoupling such detection with biometric methods.

The availability of this information may thus find application in thecontext of individual transactions, as illustrated by the flow diagramof FIG. 3B. When a customer visits a merchant to engage in a commercialtransaction at block 320, such as for the purchase of goods and/orservices, the customer may provide a biometric identification andperhaps other information to the merchant 152 at block 322. For example,the biometric identification might operate solely as a mechanism toverify the identity of the customer, but might alternatively act as amechanism to access financial accounts of the customer's used in supportof the transaction. In embodiments where it is used solely as anidentification mechanism, the other information provided to the merchant152 may comprise information used in identifying the financialaccount(s) to be used in supporting the transaction.

Irrespective of how the biometric information is to be used, transactionand biometric information is transmitted from the merchant 152 to thetransaction network 116 at block 324. The transaction information mightcomprise item-level information that specifies each product that is tobe purchased as part of the transaction and its price, or might comprisehigher-level information that specifies only the total transactionamount. Processing of the transaction may follow a two-pronged path insome embodiments. The left prong in FIG. 3B, beginning at block 326,shows how financial aspects of the transaction may be processed, whilethe right prong in FIG. 3B, beginning at block 332, shows howidentification aspects of the transaction may be processed. Certainembodiments require satisfaction of both financial processing andidentification processing to be satisfied for the transaction to beapproved.

Thus, seeking approval for the financial aspects of the transactionbegins at block 326 with a request for transaction approval beingtransmitted from the transaction network 116 to the financial network108, which routes the request to the appropriate financial institution120. The appropriate financial institution 120 may be identified by thefinancial network 108 using information included with thetransaction-approval request. A request for sufficient accountinformation to verify that adequate funds, or an equivalent credit line,are available to support the transaction is accordingly issued to thefinancial institution 120 at block 328. An approval code is transmittedback to the merchant 152 through the financial network 108 andtransaction network 116 if the verification is successful.

Seeking approval for the identification aspects of the transactionbegins at block 332 with the biometric information being transmitted tothe fraud-identification system 100. The biometric information that istransmitted may comprise raw biometric data or may comprise biometricparameters derived from the raw data by application of the analyticalalgorithm discussed above. In many instances, devices maintained bymerchants 152 may have inadequate processing power or may not bespecifically configured to apply the algorithm so that the algorithm isapplied to biometric information by the fraud-identification system 100at block 334. The customer is thus identified by the biometricinformation and a check is made at block 336 whether the storedbiometric information for that customer has been designated asassociated with suspicious activity.

If not, and an approval code has resulted from the left prong of FIG.3B, an approval code for the transaction is returned to the merchant 152at block 338 so that the merchant 152 may proceed with executing thetransaction with the customer at block 340. If the biometric has beendesignated as associated with suspicious activity, an alert may beissued back to the merchant to that effect at block 344 and in someinstances an alert may also be issued to law enforcement at block 344.

The centralized maintenance of biometric information enabled byembodiments of the invention advantageously permits other functionalityto be implemented that uses the biometrics. For example, the biometricinformation may be used at financial institutions 120 to accessinformation as illustrated in FIG. 3C. The customer visits the financialinstitution 120 at block 346 and provides a biometric measurement,permitting the financial institution 120 to apply the analyticalalgorithm to the biometric at block 350. The results of applying thealgorithm are transmitted to the fraud-identification system 100 atblock 352 so that the fraud-identification system 100 may identify thecorresponding stored biometric. In some alternative embodiments, thefinancial institution 120 may transmit the raw biometric data so thatthe application of the analytical algorithm is carried out by thefraud-identification system 100 instead of by the financial institution.

Once the corresponding biometric information maintained by thefraud-identification system has been identified, a determination is madeat block 354 to verify that that biometric information has not beendesignated as associated with suspicious activity. A confirmation of thecustomer's identity is accordingly returned to the financial institution120 at block 356. Having been properly identified, in this embodimentthe customer may then access information maintained by thefraud-identification system, including account and item-leveltransaction information, which may be displayed to the customer at block358.

The descriptions provided above in the context of FIGS. 3B and 3C applymore directly to an architecture using a centralized biometricsrepository as shown in FIG. 1A. FIG. 3D provides a flow diagram thatillustrates how a distributed arrangement like that shown in FIG. 1B maybe used. The methods illustrated with the flow diagram of FIG. 3D makeuse of the biometric switch 180 to coordinate the routing of requestsand responses that make use of locally stored biometric information.These methods may begin when an individual presents himself at afinancial institution or at a merchant at block 360. While suchpresentation will often be as part of performing some kind oftransaction with the financial institution or merchant, the invention isintended also to encompass circumstances in which biometrics ofemployees of the financial institution or merchant are used.

A biometric measurement is accordingly taken from the individual atblock 362, such as by optically scanning a fingerprint, retinal pattern,or the like. The measured biometric is transmitted to the biometricswitch 180 at block 364, permitting the switch 180 at block 366 to routethe measured biometric to the financial institution maintaining apurportedly corresponding biometric in its local data store 184. Abiometric function is accordingly performed by the financial institutionat block 368, such as by comparing aspects of the biometric receivedfrom the biometric switch 180 against the purportedly correspondingbiometric. This permits a purported identity of the individualpresenting himself at block 360 to be verified. A result of thebiometric function, such as in the form of a confirmation or denial of amatch between the measured and stored biometrics, is returned to thebiometric switch at block 370. This result is routed back to theoriginal financial institution or merchant by the biometric switch 180at block 372, permitting the original financial institution or merchantto take appropriate action. For instance, a transaction may be deniedupon discovering that a failure for the proffered biometric to beconfirmed, or a transaction may be executed upon receiving satisfactoryindications that identity has been verified. While this method isunlikely to be applied when the individual visits the financialinstitution where the purportedly corresponding biometric is maintained,it is useful when individuals attempt to perform transactions atdifferent financial institutions or merchants.

Thus, having described several embodiments, it will be recognized bythose of skill in the art that various modifications, alternativeconstructions, and equivalents may be used without departing from thespirit of the invention. Accordingly, the above description should notbe taken as limiting the scope of the invention, which is defined in thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for monitoring fraud risk in financialtransactions, the system comprising: a biometric switch; a plurality ofdistinct financial institutions, wherein each of the financialinstitutions maintains financial transaction information associated withindividuals and biometric information associated with those individuals,including biometric information that has been marked as suspicious; oneor more processors associated with the biometric switch and theplurality of financial institutions; one or more memories coupled withthe one or more processors, the one or more memories storinginstructions for: receiving financial transaction information andassociated biometric information for each of a plurality of financialtransactions conducted over time; determining, based on the financialtransaction information and the biometric information for each of theplurality of financial transactions, that a pattern of transactionshaving biometric information corresponding to a specified individual aresuspicious; marking, as suspicious, biometric information associatedwith the specified individual; receiving, at the biometric switch from arequesting party, biometric information for an individual transactionbeing conducted; identifying with the biometric switch which of thedistinct financial institutions maintains biometric informationcorresponding to the received biometric information for the individualtransaction; routing the received biometric information for theindividual transaction from the biometric switch to the identifiedfinancial institution, the routine based on the identified financialinstitution maintaining the corresponding biometric information ratherthan an account used for the individual transaction; determining, at theidentified financial institution, that the received biometricinformation for the individual transaction is associated with thespecified individual, so that fraud risk monitoring includes adetermination based on the biometric information and activity associatedwith the biometric information, separate from data associated with theaccount used for the transaction; issuing an alert to the requestingparty when the biometric information associated with the specifiedindividual is suspicious; and separately using the received biometricinformation to access accounts used in support of the individualtransaction by an enrolled customer that has accounts associated withthe biometric information.
 2. The system recited in claim 1, wherein thepattern of transactions associated with a specified individual beingsuspicious comprises a pattern of multiple near-simultaneoustransactions at different geographical locations having biometricinformation associated with the specified individual.
 3. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the requesting party comprises one of a financialinstitution or a merchant.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the memoryfurther stores instructions for: receiving, at the biometric switch fromthe identified institution, the alert to the requesting party that thebiometric information associated with the specified individual issuspicious; and routing the alert from the biometric switch to therequesting party.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the specifiedindividual comprises an employee of one of the plurality of distinctfinancial institutions.
 6. The system recited in claim 1, wherein thebiometric information comprises raw biometric data.
 7. The systemrecited in claim 1, wherein the received biometric information comprisesderived biometric parameters.
 8. The system recited in claim 1, whereinfinancial transaction information and associated biometric informationfor each of the plurality of financial transactions conducted over timeare received regularly and substantially continuously at each of theplurality of financial institutions.
 9. A method for managing the use ofbiometric information, the method comprising: receiving, at one or moreprocessors, financial transaction information and associated biometricinformation for each of a plurality of financial transactions conductedover time; determining, at one or more of the processors, based on thefinancial transaction information and the biometric information for eachof the plurality of financial transactions, that a pattern oftransactions having biometric information corresponding to a specifiedindividual are suspicious; marking, as suspicious, at one or more of theprocessors, biometric information associated with the specifiedindividual; maintaining, at one or more of the processors at each of aplurality of distinct financial institutions, financial transactioninformation associated with individuals and biometric informationassociated with those individuals, including biometric information thathas been marked as suspicious; receiving, at one or more of theprocessors at a biometric switch, from a requesting party, biometricinformation for an individual transaction being conducted; identifyingwith the biometric switch which of the distinct financial institutionsmaintains biometric information corresponding to the received biometricinformation for the individual transaction being conducted; routing thereceived biometric information for the individual transaction from thebiometric switch to the identified financial institution, the routingbased on the identified financial institution maintaining thecorresponding biometric information rather than an account used for theindividual transaction; determining, at one or more of the processors atthe identified financial institution, that the biometric information forthe individual transaction is associated with the specified individual,so that fraud risk monitoring includes a determination based on thebiometric information and activity associated with the biometricinformation, separate from data associated with the account used for thetransaction; issuing, at one or more of the processors, an alert to therequesting party when the biometric information associated with thespecified individual is suspicious; and separately using the receivedbiometric information to access accounts used in support of theindividual transaction by an enrolled customer that has accountsassociated with the biometric information.
 10. The method recited inclaim 9, wherein the pattern of transactions associated with a specifiedindividual being suspicious comprises a pattern of multiplenear-simultaneous transactions at different geographical locationshaving biometric information associated with the specified individual.11. The method of claim 9, wherein the requesting party comprises one ofa financial institution or a merchant.
 12. The method of claim 9,wherein method further comprises: receiving, at the biometric switchfrom the identified institution, the alert to the requesting party thatthe biometric information associated with the specified individual issuspicious; and routing the alert from the biometric switch to therequesting party.
 13. The method of claim 9, wherein the specifiedindividual comprises an employee of one of the plurality of distinctfinancial institutions.
 14. The method recited in claim 9, wherein thebiometric information comprises raw biometric data.
 15. The methodrecited in claim 9, wherein the received biometric information comprisesderived biometric parameters.
 16. The method of claim 9, whereinfinancial transaction information and associated biometric informationfor each of the plurality of financial transactions conducted over timeare received regularly and substantially continuously at each of theplurality of financial institutions.